On Friday, September 18, PomeGran hosted its latest Northern Ontario Gigabit Fibre Project webinar, bringing together project leaders, service providers and community members for another update on the progress being made across the region.

Since our last webinar, the project has continued to gain momentum, with more fibre built, more homes reaching service readiness and major infrastructure milestones completed across Northern Ontario.

If you missed the webinar or want to revisit the highlights, here’s what you need to know.

More Homes. More Fibre. More Communities Getting Closer to Connection.

The Northern Ontario Gigabit Fibre Project continues to move forward, with the project scope expanding since the last update to include additional homes across the region. The project now reaches 21,809 homes, including 3,106 Indigenous households, across approximately 50,000 square kilometres of Northern Ontario.

Progress to date includes:

• More than 900 km of fibre installed and operational
• More than 1,500 premises tested and ready for activation

A Major Milestone for St. Joseph Island

One of the biggest project milestones shared during the webinar was the successful deployment of the St. Joseph Island submarine fibre cable.

After nearly 18 months of coordination and approvals, PomeGran received the final approval required to move forward with submarine cable installations to St. Joseph Island and Pine Island at the end of June.

This submarine cable installation creating a critical connection to the broader fibre network. Together, the submarine crossings are designed to support connectivity for more than 2,000 households.

Progress Across Manitoulin Island

Work is also advancing across Manitoulin Island, where the project includes nearly 1,200 kilometres of fibre connecting approximately 10,700 homes and businesses.

Fibre service is already available in Gore Bay, Gordon and Barrie Island, while crews continue construction and network preparation in additional communities across the island.

The project team is working toward making service available before the end of 2026 in areas including Burpee and Mills, NEMI, Sheguiandah, Aundeck Omni Kaning First Nation and parts of Billings Township.

From Fibre Construction to Your Front Door

The webinar also took viewers behind the scenes of what it takes to bring fibre from the network to an individual home.

Building a fibre network involves much more than placing cable. Network design, permitting, hydro make-ready work, fibre construction, splicing and testing all need to come together before a home is ready for service.

Across the project, more than 1,500 premises have now reached Ready to Activate or “RTA” status, with progress visible across communities including Lively, Johnson Township, Gordon, Gore Bay, Macdonald, Meredith and Aberdeen Additional, and others.

As more sections of the network complete these final stages, more residents will be able to make the connection from fibre infrastructure in their community to active fibre service in their homes.

Introducing The Fibre Files

The webinar also offered a first look at The Fibre Files, a new PomeGran-sponsored podcast focused on breaking down the questions, ideas and conversations shaping the broadband industry.

From how fibre networks are built to the technologies and partnerships helping expand connectivity, The Fibre Files will take listeners behind the industry and make complex broadband topics easier to understand.

A preview of the podcast was shared during the webinar, with more episodes and details coming soon.

Showing Up in the Communities We Serve

Building the network is only one part of connecting Northern Ontario.

The webinar also highlighted NIVO’s growing community presence across the region, from local fairs and community events to partnerships with local organizations and businesses.

Throughout the summer, the NIVO team participated in events including Harbour Days, the Blind River Fair and Parade, the Laird Fair, the Echo Bay baseball finals and the Massey Fair, with more community activities planned throughout the fall.

The goal is simple: continue showing up, listening and building relationships in the communities the network is being built to serve.

Connectivity That Creates Opportunity

Reliable connectivity is about more than speed.

It can help local businesses reach new customers, give residents more flexibility to work from where they live, expand access to education and services, and help families stay connected regardless of distance.

That is the opportunity behind the Northern Ontario Gigabit Fibre Project: building infrastructure designed to support these communities not only today, but for generations to come.

Watch the Webinar Recap

Catch up on the latest milestones, hear directly from the teams building the network and learn more about what’s ahead for fibre connectivity across Northern Ontario.